City Vienna Ball, 1904

With two annual balls ("Hofball" and "Ball bei Hof"), the yard completed its "obligatory" ball program. While the Kaiser's mother, Archduchess Sophie, was still alive, she organized other balls at court. But with her death, this tradition ended. The initiative to hold court balls was supposed to come from the "first lady" of the empire, and the Kaiser's wife, Elizabeth, reduced the ball program at court to the very minimum - two balls a season. She had a lot of that too, she did not like court parties and public appearances.